Question Will this work to install two copies of Win11 on the same drive and dual boot between them?

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Imacflier

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Jan 19, 2014
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Hi, All

I am all too frequently called on to fix something on my wife's computer. We both run Win11. The settings she uses are just plain weird and I seem to be unable to find anything when I sit a her computer, besides the fact that she does not have many of the software utilities I commonly access.

I am using 4tb NVME drives so I am moving a LOT of data. I will use an external NVME reader/writer.

So: I propose to take a new 4TB NVME drive and create two 2TB partitions each formatted GMT, clone her system drive into one partition and then clone my system into the other partition. Finally I will physically swap the new dual drive for the old system drive.

Question 1: Will this give me two partitions either of which can be booted into, or is there some thing I don't understand?

Question 2: Assuming this will work, how do I set up her computer to give the option of booting into system 1 or system 2?

This stuff confuses me, to say it politely.

Help me out here,

TIA

Larry
 
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Why 2 separate installations, and 2 drives? This is almost a guarantee that you will run a fixit tool on one drive with the wrong drive inserted or selected and hose the entire setup (happens far more often than you think). One drive (installation) with separate logins and do not place her account in the "Administrators" security group (along with denying access to the "Administrator" login) is the proper way to do things.
 
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Imacflier said:
So: I propose to take a new 4TB NVME drive and create two 2TB partitions each formatted GMT,
clone her system drive into one partition and then clone my system into the other partition.
Finally I will physically swap the new dual drive for the old system drive.

Question 1: Will this give me two partitions either of which can be booted into, or is there some thing I don't understand?
Question 2: Assuming this will work, how do I set up her computer to give the option of booting into system 1 or system 2?
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Bootloader will be a problem. Bootloader lives on a separate partition. It has to be cloned too.
Then you'll have to use bcdboot command to add second windows to bootloader.

Another problem is, you intend to clone OS partition from a completely different computer.
Do both those computers have completely identical hardware? I'd imagine - they probably don't.
This will cause serious problems:
incompatible drivers,​
incompatible storage controller settings,​
e.t.c.​
Cloned OS from different PC is not guarantied to boot.
If you manage to boot it, you'll have to manually clean out old drivers and reinstall all drivers compatible with new hardware.
 
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COLGeek said:
This seems an overly complicated "fix". You could do the same with just having separate accounts (which would have your individual profiles they way each of you prefer) on a single system. If two PCs, do it on both PCs.
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This is a really clever solution....

Now, is there an easy way for me to transfer all my settings (profile) to her computer (perhaps on a flash drive somehow)?

Larry
 
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ex_bubblehead said:
Be prepared, it's not an easy tool to use for most (entirely commandline driven) and can hose a system royally if not called with the proper flags.
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Thank you. I DO try to avoid command line commands since I am so typo prone.

While reading about USMT I found this alternative, which seems safer, simpler, and adequate.

This is my new plan.

Thank all of you folks!

Larry

1. Manual Copying:
 
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That looks very much like an AI generated response. You NEVER copy everything in a profile to another computer. There many entries there that are system specific and guaranteed not to work elsewhere. Besides the fact that file permissions will not be correct, and there are many registry entries that must be made correctly, and will result in an inaccessible profile if not. Do things the right way.
 
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Imacflier said:
Thank you. I DO try to avoid command line commands since I am so typo prone.

While reading about USMT I found this alternative, which seems safer, simpler, and adequate.

This is my new plan.

Thank all of you folks!

Larry

1. Manual Copying:
Click to expand...
Copy/paste the entire /Users/You/ folder and its contents will fail.
 
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OK, All,

I finally went to Microsoft Support (yeah, I have become a slow learner!) and found this (not an AI response!):

To copy all system settings, files, and configurations from your local user account to a new administrator account, follow these steps:

1: Log into the old (local) user account.

2: Open File Explorer (Win + E) and go to:

C:\Users

3: Open your old user profile folder.

4: Copy all files except these:

NTUSER.DAT

NTUSER.INI

NTUSER.LOG

5: Navigate to your new admin account's user folder:

C:\Users\NewAdminAccount

6: Paste the copied files into this folder.

7: Restart your computer and log in to the new admin account.

8: Check if all personal files, downloads, and desktop settings are restored.

Now, if I also export all my Chrome data, does anybody agree or disagree that I will have the "look and feel" of my computer on my wife's computer (less any programs on mine that are not also on hers)?

Crossing my fingers,

Please Advise,

Larry
 
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How do you plan to keep the two profiles on two systems synched?

I think you may be missing the points previously discussed. Just setup two accounts. Use your account to make changes (as the administrator). No need to muck around with the wife's profile if it works for her now.
 
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Corwin65 said:
I don't think I've ever had an issue using someone else's Win 11. Complicating for the sake of complicating IMHO.
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Exactly.

For instance, my (Win 11) HTPC runs as a Local Standard User all the time.
If I need to do anything deeper, I log in with the Local Admin user, and do what is needed.

The exact this happens when I need to manage my spouses system. Just log in with the admin acct.

Absolutely no need for 2x Windows installs, or any need to try to copy my entire environment from other systems into that little HTPC.
 
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A RANT!!

(I will likely earn another point for this, but it will be worth it!)

Folks, I have grown rather tired of being told I do not want to do what I have expressly stated that I want to do.

YOU may well not want to do what I want to do....so don't do it.

Tell me the unfortunate outcomes if I do choose to do it., or tell me of a better way. But I will decide if I wish to do it anyway.

For heaven's sake, stop telling me I do not know my own mind!

So: I followed the procedure I got from Microsoft, and then exported my Chrome data.

The end result is that I have the look and feel of my own computer when I log onto my wife's computer.

They outcome I desired at the very beginning.

Yes, I learned a lot from Y'All's discussions and advice, and for that "Thank, you!"

Larry
 
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